


Dating Games

by ABrighterDarkness



Series: Tony Stark Bingo [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Awesome Sam Wilson, Captain America Sam Wilson, Confused Tony Stark, Domestic Avengers, Humor, M/M, Mischief, Nomad Steve Rogers, Surprise Kissing, Teasing, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22564570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABrighterDarkness/pseuds/ABrighterDarkness
Summary: “Dude, Tony. You gotta stop telling everyone that you're dating Captain America. It's not even funny anymore. It's just...awkward. I’m not sure if it's gonna be Sam or Steve that throws the first punch at some nosey ass reporter asking about your dirty love triangle.”
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark & Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Bingo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1599133
Comments: 28
Kudos: 192
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	Dating Games

**Author's Note:**

> Tony Stark Bingo card #3089   
> Square: T3
> 
> I took a lot of creative liberty with canon and twisted and made it into something useable for this particular fic. A _huge_ thank you to DeadLocked for betaing!!

It started out as a joke. Well, no, it started out purely accidental but quickly  _ evolved _ into a joke. A way to mess with Steve and maybe stir up some of that possessiveness that Tony frankly found hot as hell. 

When the Rogue Avengers returned to the avenging fold, Steve had decided to retain the his Nomad moniker--Tony only wished he could have witnessed the beard that had originally gone with it--choosing instead to pass the mantle of Captain America to Sam. Tony could see the logic behind the choice of successor. It was, admittedly, odd having Cap in the air with him the first couple of calls they responded to after the shield changed hands. It only took a few times of referring to Steve as ‘Cap’ out of habit before Tony began doing it intentionally. It didn’t seem to bother either one of them. Eyerolls were the most common response, though Steve’s were affectionate whereas Sam just seemed amused. 

But that wasn’t the response Tony had been counting on. Ruffling feathers and getting an actual  _ reaction _ out of Steve quickly became the name of the game. 

So began the passing comments about his ongoing relationship with ‘Cap’ that was going unhampered despite the unmitigated disaster that was the Accords. Steve didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. Then the general speculation as to which ‘Captain’ Tony Stark was involved with. How was he suddenly so unrattled? 

It had gotten to the point where it was practically interchangeable. Whichever man happened to be nearest when Tony started talking to or about ‘Cap’ would simply respond accordingly. It hadn’t taken long for Tony to realize how the two men had formed such a tight knit bond, Sam was surprisingly easy to get along with and took Tony’s odd ways in stride with an ease that he’d seen few manage. Though, Tony imagined that putting up with Steve’s stubborn impatience for as long as he did had given the man a primer on dealing with Tony.

“Dude, Tony. You gotta stop telling everyone that you're dating Captain America. It's not even funny anymore. It's just...awkward,” Clint groaned one evening when they were all sprawled across various couches and chairs, scanning through the news headlines on his StarkPad, where inevitably there were articles involving Tony’s most recent comments regarding the topic at hand. The team had quickly readopted movie night, picking up almost exactly where they left off as though half of them hadn’t spent a year and change as fugitives. There was something comforting about how easily everything seemed to fall back into place. ”I’m not sure if it's gonna be Sam or Steve that throws the first punch at some nosey ass reporter asking about your dirty love triangle.”

“Sam,” Steve answered absently from Tony’s right, not bothering to lift his attention from the sketchbook in his lap. “He’s the one with the temper.”

“Excuse you, Rogers,” Sam protested from the small kitchen area off to the side. “I’m practically saint-like next to you. Mister I-angry-crush-things-on-the-daily.”

“Not when it comes to nosey reporters,” Steve countered easily, ignoring the dig.

“He’s got you there, Wilson.”

“Oh shut up, Barnes,” Sam snarked back. “You don’t like their pesky asses either.”

_ That _ had been the most awkward part of the entire thing. The whole ‘team regrouping’ thing. Tony hadn’t been sure about welcoming the man who Steve would clearly burn the world and everything in it for into the fold of the Avengers family. The first couple of months had been...well, they had been tense. Awkward. But like Tony did with most awkward moments in his life, he’d ignored it and pushed through. And pushed and pushed and pushed. Somehow, the whole situation never buckled--or exploded--under the pressure, instead Barnes somehow got nudged into place among their band of misfits. His addition definitely benefited them in the field, Tony would give him that much at least. 

Eventually, Tony had even managed to set aside some of the lingering jealousy.

“Play nice, boys,” Natasha smirked, clearly enjoying the banter.

They were settling into their respective positions, Tony sitting comfortably against Steve’s side with Steve’s arm draped across the back of the couch. Suddenly Steve shifted slightly, dropping his pencil into the crease of the sketchbook and looking over his shoulder to see into the kitchen. “Hey Sam,” He called.

“Yeah?” Sam returned distractedly from where he was digging through the refrigerator for some pre-movie snacks.

“Remember that thing we talked about?” Steve asked vaguely.

“Sure,” Sam answered, amused. “Gonna go ahead and assume I know which ‘thing’ you’re talking about.”

“Great,” Steve grinned. “Don’t forget. Tomorrow it’s your turn to make sure Tony eats and gets to sleep at a reasonable time.”

“Wait what?” Tony frowned, sitting upright for a better vantage point, hoping that the change would somehow make the words being said make more sense.

“Nah, that’s your job, old man,” Sam countered, ignoring Tony’s interruption. “Remember, we talked about this. You get the babysitting duties, I got the whole making sure he dresses himself properly and gets his work done. Think we decided to take turns on the whole not building killer robots thing. Oh, and the running his mouth with the press thing.”

“Ah, right,” Steve said, nodding thoughtfully. “Forgot that conversation. Tomorrow’s Sunday though, that means you get to deal with the whole antisocial thing. You know how he gets when we don’t drag him out of his cave.”

“Now hold on...Turns? Antisocial? What?” Tony blinked rapidly in confusion, gaping awkwardly at the two men.

“Tony, hush,” Steve said quietly, patting his arm absently with the hand draped across the couch and Tony sputtered, his mind not at all understanding the conversation taking place around him. He took a cautionary look around the room, hoping that someone else had some idea what the  _ hell _ was going on. Clint was still staring at the tablet in his lap, but his brows were arched high on his face and his head was cocked to the side--the only tells he gave to his own surprise and confusion. Natasha was just watching everything unfold with an air of amusement. Of course she was. 

“You know,” Sam said thoughtfully with an almost playful scowl, stepping back and closing the refrigerator door. “This whole Cap thing seems to come with all the responsibilities and none of the benefits.” 

“Think so?” Steve asked, tilting his head in thought. “What do you suggest?”

“Alright!” Tony interrupted. “I get it, I’ll stop with the ‘Cap’ thing. I’ll try anyway. Kinda habit by now.”

“I dunno,” Sam continued, ignoring Tony’s protests once again, moving from the kitchen to stand over the back of the couch where Tony and Steve were seated. “Just didn’t expect the shield to come with Stark-shaped strings attached to it. But,” he continued as he hopped over the back of the couch, landing beside Tony’s opposite side. “I’m sure we can figure it out. I’m flexible like that.”

“What the hell, Tony,” Clint interjected, no longer paying any attention to the tablet in his hands, rather fully invested in the conversation playing out in front of him. “Did you just manage to get cornered into two helicopter boyfriends? What, does that damned shield designate the official Stark Wrangler or something?”

“I-I,” Tony blinked rapidly in confusion at the sudden turn of events. “I don’t know? Maybe?” He pulled himself quickly together and gathered up the focus to smirk, “I mean, it would save me the hassle of trying to differentiate between Cap’s.”

“There he goes again, Steve,” Sam sighed in a begrudging way, his amusement only identifiable by the slight quirk in his lips. “What’s the deal with the smart mouth?”

“That’s just Tony,” Steve smirked. His face was tinted pink and his eyes were watering, broad shoulders shaking with the effort of holding back his laughter. “It grows on you.”

“I genuinely can’t tell if they’re serious or just having one over on you, Tony,” Natasha said tone mildly impressed, tilting her head curiously as she observed the interaction. It seemed that most of the team was content to sit back and watch the show without providing commentary. Of course, Clint and Natasha had to be the exceptions.

Steve was grinning when he reached across to tap a fingertip to Tony’s chin to get his attention. When Tony looked over, the grin softened into amused affection and a sweet kiss. Tony couldn’t resist the smile that etched its way across his own expression, only to startle slightly when his chin was caught and turned the opposite direction and another--completely unfamiliar--set of lips pressed to his. A startled sound of surprise worked its way through Tony once Sam pulled away and settled back against the couch. 

Tony was sure he had to look completely ridiculous as he flushed deeply, gaping back and forth between the two men on either side of him with unmasked confused surprise. He attempted to say something, to all but beg for some clarification before his mind did a full meltdown. All he managed was an incomprehensible babble that formed not a single actual word. It was several long moments before he realized that the couch was shaking with the force of Steve’s unrestrained laughter. And god, what a gorgeous sound that was. Tony couldn’t even be upset that he was the cause of it.

“Okay,” he managed finally. “I’m gonna need one of you to explain.”

“Just a little negotiation on fringe benefits,” Sam quipped with a wide grin of his own, tipping sideways until his legs were kicked up over the arm of the couch and his head landed into Tony’s lap. “Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, Stark.”

“That…” Tony blinked down at the man in his lap and shook his head slowly, his mind attempting to make sense of the spoken words. “That tells me absolutely nothing.”

“Oh, we know,” Steve said next to him, his tone amused but incredibly fond. 


End file.
